THE results of the 2015 National Equine Health Survey have recently been reported by Professor Josh Slater (Royal Veterinary College and BEVA). The results from the survey suggest there is still a lack of understanding about appropriate anthelminthic use and about equine intestinal parasites. According to the survey one in three British horse owners are worming incorrectly.

Small redworms are the most common worms found in British horses. These worms have the ability to hibernate within the gut wall in small cysts. Encysted small redworms are potentially fatal and the biggest problem with treating them is that they do not show up in a faecal worm egg count and they may not cause any obvious symptoms. Therefore horse owners are often unaware that their horse has them.

It is therefore crucial to remember that even if your horse’s faecal worm egg count is negative you must still treat for encysted small redworm during late autumn/early winter, before the early spring, to protect your horse from this deadly parasite.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

There are only two ingredients licensed to treat encysted small redworms:

1. A single dose of moxidectin.

2. A five-day course of fenbendazole.

However fenbendazole resistance has become an issue, so a resistance test would be recommended before using it. Ask your vet for advice on which worming product would be most suitable for treating your horse.

TIPS AND ADVICE

It is still important to have a faecal egg count done for all of the horses in your yard. This test is very useful because it will indicate the level of adult parasite burden in the horse and, over time, will allow a worming history to be built up.

It will also allow worming treatments to be targeted only at horses with significant worm burdens (i.e. > 200 eggs per gramme). Follow-up faecal egg counts will then confirm if worm control is effective. By monitoring your horses’ worm count you will reduce the number of treatments that are needed and in turn will help save money and time.

It is important to discuss the results of the egg count with your vet and to then set out a worm control plan so that you can ensure you are using the right product at the right time of year to safeguard your horse’s health.